Some of them were returning home for New Year vacation, some from pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi when a spray of bullets and grenade fire brought their lives to a standstill. While they lie in hospital, anxious for news of their friends and family, their gifts and offerings are strewn over the tracks at the Jammu railway station. Sheikh Manohar of Chasmi, Maharashtra, asks every passing policeman for news of his friend Balu Landi who trekked the way to Vaishno Devi with him. Landi was by his side when one of the militants threw a grenade at him. The splinters hit both and Landi fell to the ground. Policemen carried Manohar to hospital and that is all he can remember. For Tarun Kumar of Haryana, it is the thought of his brothers — aged three and five — waiting at home that worries him. The two had demanded gifts from Vaishno Devi and Kumar had bought a few dresses and toys. He had held the toys in his hand so he wouldn’t forget them at the hotel.‘‘I will not be able to carry prashad home,’’ he says. Lying next to him is Kamal Mehra, a selection grade constable in J-K Police. He had just been told by a relative he was to become a father and was to call his wife soon. Mehra, who was on sentry duty at the station, spotted two men in Army uniform moving towards the platform. He got suspicious as the two were wearing sneakers and informed his senior. ‘‘I called them and told them to stop. Instead, they turned around and opened fire,’’ says Mehra. The bullets grazed past, injuring him in the shoulder. He only hopes his hand will heal in time to hold the newborn.
